Why Are You My Clarity?
by PotatoKraken
Summary: Belle begins to day dream while cleaning the castle. She nearly takes a spill before being greeted with an unexpected surprise. FTL Rumbelle. Fluff. May continue with a Storybrooke mirror. R&R!


Candle light flickered in the grand ballroom, dim and dark. The dusty curtains fluttering slightly in the breeze allowed in through the floor to ceiling windows that stood slightly a jar. All was quiet. Well, aside from the sound of coughing that came from a corner with a particularly dust ridden vase. Belle waved her hand in front of her face attempting to dispel the unpleasant particles, closing her eyes and scrunching her nose.

"You would almost think…" she muttered to herself, "That he'd left it like this on purpose."

She placed her feather duster back in the bucket next to her, patting the rest of the gray grime off her pale blue dress. She supposed she'd earned a moments rest. After all, the room looked much less disgusting then it had when she'd started. She looked around the large space, really taking it in for the first time.

The ceiling was high, she could barely make out a hanging golden chandelier in the darkness. She took a few steps backwards, her gaze still cast above. The room looked large enough to host the most grandeurs of parties, able to occupy a small kingdom. But she had a sneaking suspicion the ballroom had never actually been used, much like many rooms in the castle.

Belle closed her eyes. In her mind, the ballroom became brightly lit. The gleaming polished chandelier filled with what could have been a thousand candles, illuminating the painted ceilings. The bright tiling of the floor bathed in warm light. All around her, people dressed in the most beautiful of clothing dotted the room, gossiping gaily and laughing jovially.

In the center of the room, couples danced a waltz played perfectly by a rosy faced symphony. Belle smiled. It was a tune she remembered very well. It was a song from her village, she had heard it many times growing up when she attended socials. Unconsciously, her body swayed with the music, humming softly.

Slowly, she started to turn, her hands gently lifting her dress. Spinning, spinning spinning. She was dancing in time, her humming growing ever louder. She stepped, eyes still shut, turning and swaying to the sad and sweet song.

Suddenly, she turned to quickly. Her balance was off set, loosing her footing mid turn. She stumbled, jolted from her daydream, toppling to the ground.

Thump.

She opened her eyes. She had not fallen. Two silk clad arms had clasped themselves around her, her head, resting into her rescuers chest. She felt a fiendish chuckle swell beneath her cheek.

"A bit clumsy, are we dearie?"

Belle looked up into the teasing smile of Rumpelstiltskin. His eyes were cast down upon her, his golden skinned face stretched into a rather playful grin. Belle quickly straightened herself, loosening her captors grip.

"Sorry, I was just…Imagining…"

Her words trailed off. Surely he would be displeased with her for neglecting her work, that was, after all, the reason he'd brought her to his castle. Rumple placed his fingers together, drawing them closer to his chest.

"Imagination is a fickle thing." He mused, looking her up and down "Can lead you into some nasty spots."

Belle, sighed "I'll get back to work then, if that's alright."

She turned to get back to her cleaning, but a soft tap on her shoulder stopped her. She turned her head to glance behind. Shocked, she turned back.

The sparkling golden hand of Rumpelstiltskin was extended in her direction. His body was bowed customarily, his gaze never leaving her eyes.

"I imagine you'd be less likely to take a spill if you had a partner to lead, yes?" he snickered.

At first, Belle was prepared to decline. This was no more then a joke to him, one of his games. He was teasing her, as he'd been doing since they day she agreed to go with him.

"I'm not going to bite you, you know." he spoke, a little more seriously.

Belle still hesitated. But then, in her mind, she heard the small chink of porcelain hitting the floor. Heard herself speaking "Oh no, it's…it's chipped. You…you can hardly see it."

"It's just a cup."

She looked into Rumple's eyes, piercing as he stood determinedly before her, hand extended.

"It's just a dance."

Belle reached out, her hand sliding into his, accepting. Rumpelstiltskin's grin returned, wider then before. He bowed his head, kissing the knuckle of her hand softly.

"My lady." He said, mocking a gentleman's gesture in an exaggerated manner.

Belle couldn't help but chuckle. Maybe she was sick in the mind, but she couldn't help but find the dark and cruel man quite the riot sometimes. She returned his bow with a curtsey. Rumple straightened, the grin still plastered across his shimmering face.

Belle stepped forward, sliding her hand up his arm to rest on his shoulder. Rumpel took her other hand but, before taking her waist, he raised his other hand above his head. Belle followed it with her gaze.

"Now, lets make this a little more fun, shall we?"

He snapped his long blackened fingers. Suddenly, the room was bright and clean, glimmering in the light of millions of tiny flames from above. Belle looked around in wonder. Gleaming pillars arcing upwards, painted angels freckling the ceiling, a high balcony curving about the rim of the entire room. A grand stair case cascaded from the small opening at the head of the room. Belle hadn't realized it was there, she had always been told to enter through the small service door.

She felt her partners hand fall to her waist, drawing her into him. She looked back and jumped. Not only had he changed the room, he himself was dressed differently. She remembered the clothing from the time he had come to her families home and whisked her away. She supposed this was his equivalent of something nice. She couldn't suppress a giggle, but then she noticed her own hand. It was grasped by the fitting golden fabric of her shoulder length gloves. She looked down to find she herself had changed into the same golden dress she had been wearing that same day.

Soft music began to play from an unknown source. It was the same tune she had heard in her head. Her eyes snapped back to Rumple's. The grin had soften into a closed mouth smile, his wide iris' boring into her. Belle swallowed hard, tightening her grip on the man's shoulder and grasping his hand more firmly.

And then, they were off. Rumple swept his foot behind him, beginning there dance. Together, the two began to arc across the ball room, turning in time. The Dark One carried himself well enough, yes, but she didn't expect him to be adept at dancing. She was almost hard pressed to keep up.

"Surprised?" he voiced, grinning fiendishly as he spun her from himself with practiced hands "Didn't think I could turn a waltz, did you?"

Belle laughed freely, turning back into his arms. "I'll admit, you dance far better then I expected from someone so sheltered away from the world."

"Even the meanest dogs can learn a few parlor tricks, dearie." he returned, followed by a small cackle.

They continued in there grand dance, slowing only with the music. The tune begin to wined down, but they did not stop dancing. Unconsciously, Belle drew in even closer, her body pressed close to his, her hand almost around his neck. Their eyes never leaving one another's.

'Where did you learn to dance?" she asked him, their feet moving as one.

Rumple laughed again. "I've attended a party our two." he responded, looking some what thoughtful "Not to say I was ever invited."

Belle shook her head, still smiling. It was strange. Even though this man held her captive in his castle, she felt the experience could have been much more unpleasant. True, her room was a dungeon, she was forced to do his cleaning and cooking. She was essentially his servant. But she could have been in much worse situations. Even if he was a cruel and one of those most feared men in the land, he was able to make her smile with his quips. Even his exaggerated mannerisms had become a feature of comfort.

And there was the way he almost never seemed to leave the sear of his spinning wheel. True, sometimes he was up in his tower, concocting awful potions and magic's or sometimes he was away, doing his deal making. But whenever he had a moment, he was sitting there, spinning straw into more gold then any one soul could spend in six lifetimes. There was something sad and lost about his expression at those times, lonely really.

She hadn't noticed the music stop. Rumple cleared his throat loudly. Belle shook her head and looked up into his face.

"Lost in our mind again, are we?" he asked.

There was know childish tone in his voice now. His eyes were studying the features of her face, taking her in. Belle's face grew hot.

"I'm sorry." she apologized "I've just never danced with such an adept partner before."

She hadn't realized her other hand fall to his shoulder and his to her waist. She was staring breathlessly into his eyes. She could feel her heart beat quicken pace. Rumple looked as if, for the first time, he was struggling with what to say. They both were silent, staring into what felt like each others souls. Suddenly, it seemed to become to much for Rumple.

"I'm just glad you only managed to step on my toes twice." he chuckled nervously.

Belle laughed despite herself. "I did nothing of the sort." She returned, the feeling in the room lifting.

Rumple's face returned to his mischievous grin. "No, no. You are right, you're quite a good dancer."

They finally broke apart. As soon as they did, the ballroom dimmed once more. Rumple bent once more and kissed her hand. This time, Belle felt her cheeks redden. He stood straight once more.

"Now that was a lovely distraction." He commented, adjusting the sleeves of his silken shirt.

The two of them were returned to their original clothing and the room became grimy once more. Rumple's hands fell to his waist as he surveyed the room.

"Good enough." he said "You're free till its time to serve me my dinner."

Belle looked a bit surprised. "But I'm not even close to finished yet."

Rumple chortled. Belle eyed him suspiciously. This morning, he had acted as if this rooms cleanliness was of the highest priority.

"I just needed you busy until I could get back with the new bed sheets." he responded.

He drew a key from his inner vest pocket.

"I figured the dungeon is for more…reluctant prisoners." he mused, extending the key in offering "The guest quarters would suit you much better."

Belle's face was suddenly alight. "Are you serious?" she asked, accepting the key graciously.

Rumple chuckled again, folding his hands behind his back. He turned on his heel and picked up step.

"Dearie, I am always quite serious."

He followed with a loud cackle. Belle admired at the key. It seemed very nondescript, apart from a small insigne at the top. It appeared to be the profile of a roaring lion. She looked back to Rumple and called

"You really are a good man, aren't you?"

He stopped in his tracks. He didn't turn back to face her.

"It's hard to be a good man when you aren't quite a man at all." he responded, sounding more serious.

But his voice returned once more to its usual cold and mischievous dignity to order 'Use the little chipped tea set, would you? I've grown rather fond of it. It makes me laugh to remember how clumsy human's can be."

He cackled manically continuing out the door. Belle shook her head slightly, still grinning. "Thank you!" she called after him.

Rumple answered with a wave of his hand, disappearing from sight. Belle looked back to her new room key. "Things aren't so bad." she thought to herself.

"Not so bad here at all."

_My first Rumbelle Fanfiction. I recently became a fan of Once Upon a Time and particularly the Rumpelstiltskin story. These to have fast become my one true pairing. At first, I wasn't sure I'd be able to write for them, but I had originally approached from the Storybrooke side of the tracks. This worked out much better! _


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